Freedom and A Friend
by the-little-guru
Summary: Kai used to be many things: sneaky, angry, dishonest, bitter...He never thought it was possible to have the freedom of flight as well as a companion to share it with, not until over a year after he ran away, and about half a year after gaining airbending. Written for the Probending Circuit Round 2.
**Airbender:** The two characters fly (whether by bending, an animal, an airplane, etc).

(character) Kai

(restriction) Only one character can have dialogue.

(color) black/white

(Element) Air

Word count: 1118

* * *

Kai used to be many things: sneaky, angry, dishonest, bitter...as an orphan in a tiny backwards town, he had no mobility and no hope for the future. Pickpocketing was all he could do to get by, especially since nobody could be trusted.

When he was very young, right after his parents died, he was adopted by an older couple claiming to do good "charity" work for the community. But something was off about their household; Kai could sense it, from the way the old woman mumbled to herself to the old man's caustic treatment towards the pet dogs.

Something was very wrong.

It started with little things. Kai remembered that sometimes he was given many pairs of new clothes at the beginning of his adoption, and the old man and woman seemed to spoil him with toys and affection, but those seemed to dwindle by the time he was six.

By that point, he was constantly being "disciplined" and "strengthened" by lack of food. Life was miserable in the household, and Kai thought about how wonderful his life would be if he could fly away.

Sometimes, the old man told him to sleep outside. Sometimes, he would randomly and angrily bellow about any and all of Kai's shortcomings. Sometimes the woman would lock him in a room when he complained or cried. During Kai's final winter with the couple, he didn't receive any warm clothing, and it was at this time, when a local charity organization seemed to notice something wrong.

Still, it wasn't until the summer of that year, after Kai went into public with a bruises on his face and arms, that any action was taken.

He was quickly moved to a foster home.

At the time, Kai genuinely believed that it was all just training to make him stronger, but looking back, he cringed at how abusive the old couple had been. They must've had serious mental issues. Though her thanked the spirits that he was relocated before the situation could've turned any worse.

Kai was bounced from foster home to foster home, along with a few other unfortunate children, and each time, it seemed that the adults in charge were negligent and used to allotted money for selfish need rather than helping the children. Kai often found himself hungry and underdressed, even when he lived in opulent homes with wealthy foster "parents."

It was during these days when he would sometimes spend hours looking out the window and into the sky where bird soared wild and free. He wished he could be like them.

A few weeks before his eleventh birthday, Kai asked for a small birthday party from his foster parents, and was immediately rejected.

Or course, for most of his life, he hadn't had any form of birthday celebration at all, but this particular time, Kai felt an uncharacteristic surge of anger.

The world owed him, and it was time to pay up!

Needless to say, the first time he tried to steal, he was caught. So were the next few times.

In fact, Kai was caught pickpocketing so many times that his then current foster parents eventually wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. He was twelve now, old enough, apparently, to work in a factory and "make something useful of his life."

To him, it was unacceptable.

The night Kai found out about it, he ran away. He wouldn't be forced into labor; he deserved to be free!

He snuck onto the back of a freight car and hopped off a hundred miles south, pockets heavy with coins and artifacts he'd stolen from his foster home. His comeuppance rested heavy in the pockets of Kai's tattered pants.

That very evening, he treated himself to a massive bowl of noodles.

They tasted like liberty.

After six months alone, Kai basked in how magnificent life was as a young free boy. He could do whatever he wanted, and the hefty bag of money and expensive trinkets from his former foster home would ensure food for at least another year, as long he protected himself well.

Life was splendid...and fun...and lonely.

Kai could never stay in one place for long without the risk of being caught; he was wanted after all, for taking valuables from his negligent foster home. Consequently, he had no friends. No friends, or pets, or family...he was free as a bird, but somehow, it felt utterly unsatisfying all by himself.

He never thought it was possible to have the freedom of flight as well as a companion to share it with, not until over a year after he ran away, and about half a year after gaining airbending.

Not until he actually truly helped another living being for the first time when he stopped the Bison hustlers.

Afterwards he found himself taking a liking to one very young bison in particular after that…

He was friendly, black and white striped, and bursting with energy, the first of the young bison to begin flying. Kai thought the bison to be unconventional, and a fitting name would be Lefty.

It was hilarious to watch how graceless the first time was, but in many ways, Kai thought they two were very similar. Kai didn't have any idea what he was doing the first time he cut ties with a foster family, and somehow, his life ended up alright.

He was still well today, when he was trying out Lefty's saddle for the first time!

He felt almost bad, putting his magnificent companion in a saddle, but it would be difficult for other people to hold on otherwise.

Incidentally, it was also the first time Kai flew riding on top of Lefty as well; the bison had been too young before, and Kai was afraid of straining him, but after some practice, they were both ready.

"Y'ready, Lefty?" asked Kai, giving his bison a small pat on the head.

He received a low grunt in reply, as Lefty waddled to the edge of cliff.

Kai felt excitement bubbling in his stomach, a light, airy sensation threatening to burst out and carry him away.

Lefty seemed to sense his nervous excitement, because the bison briefly paused before launching himself into the cold air in the high altitude of the Northern Air Temple.

"Yeah!" whooped Kai, as the air blasted into his face. They were flying! They were so high off the ground and Kai wasn't doing any work. He was putting all his trust in the young bison below him.

It was a good feeling, flying together. Kai absentmindedly rubbed the fur on top of Lefty's head as he watched the clouds stream past.

He could get used to this.


End file.
